Contact Improvisation: Sharing Weight
A step-by-step introduction to contact dance: rolling point of contact, back-to-back support and partner counterbalances. Students work on body listening, trust, controlling their own weight and improvising in continuous movement.
How to play
- Warm up on the floor on mats: roll slowly, move from lying to sitting to squatting without slamming hands down. 3 minutes.
- In pairs, backs of hands touching, one leads and the other follows with eyes closed; switch every minute, 4 minutes total.
- Rolling point of contact: partners keep one point of contact (shoulder, back, arm) that rolls across the body while both move slowly. 5 minutes.
- Back to back: first sitting, then squatting and finally standing, leaning into a partner's back and rising together. 4 minutes.
- Wrist-grip counterbalance: both lean back until they find shared balance, then lower and rise together. 4 minutes.
- Free 3-minute improvisation to soft music using everything learned, then a 2-minute discussion of what felt easiest and hardest.
Rules
- Nobody carries another person's full weight or lifts them off the floor.
- Anyone can say "stop" and the pair stops immediately, no questions asked.
- The head and neck are never used as support points.
Variations
Easier
Stay with the floor and hand-contact tasks, no standing counterbalances.
Standard
Work through the full progression up to the standing counterbalance and improvisation.
Harder
Improvise in groups of three, keeping two points of contact at all times.
Adaptations
- A student in a wheelchair works hand, arm and back contact from the chair while the partner adjusts levels; counterbalances are done with the brakes locked.
- For students with autism or anyone uncomfortable with touch, offer a soft ball between the two bodies as an in-between point of contact.
- When partners differ a lot in size or strength, stick to seated counterbalances and rotate partners often.
Learning goals
- Control your own weight while sharing support with someone else.
- Listen and respond to a partner's movement initiative.
- Improvise continuous movement sequences with contact.
Equipment for a class of 25
- mats: 13
- music: 1
Teacher tip
Set the touch agreement and the "stop" word before you start, and let students choose partners the first time.
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